Director: Justin Lin
Rating: **1/2
"Fast & Furious 6" evokes diverse reactions. With a wafer-thin plot and a lot of sleek action, "Fast and Furious 6" is definitely a test of patience. Reason? The audience is thrown into the conflict of the story with great speed and velocity.
Chances are that if you blink, you may miss the crux of the story and worst is that if you are not an "F&F" fan, then you'd definitely be lost in the rigmarole of the speeding cars and crashes, hand-to-hand combats and snappy one-liners.
Unlike the franchise's previous films, which focused on cars and their different makes, this one focusses on cars, an army tanker and a cargo plane - brought in to deliver a mega climax. It also leans heavily on family ties and bonding. In the sixth instalment, the franchise's favourite car thieves, who are scattered across the globe, leading a luxurious life after their successful heist in "Fast & Furious 5", join forces to take down an international criminal.
The film begins with Domnic Toretto (Vin Diesel) along with his best pal and brother-in-law Brian (Paul Walker) flaunting the speed and vigour of their cars in the scenic Canary Islands. Domnic's sister Mia (Jordana Brewster) is expecting Brian's child. Domnic assures him that nothing will make them go back to their old lifestyle.
Meanwhile, there is a blast in Moscow.
Federal Agent Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) is investigating the case. He has been tracking an organisation of lethal, ruthless and skilled mercenary drivers across "4 continents and 12 countries".
He learns that the leader of the organisation, Owen Shaw (Luke Evans) is accompanied by a fearless second-in-command revealed to be none-other than Domnic's 'dead' lover, Letty (Michelle Rodriguez).
Hobbs knows the only way to outmatch this rugged team is to assemble a team with just as much will and drive. Knowing Letty's a key-player, Hobbs lands up in Canary Island to recruit Domnic.
Everything changes thence, a reluctant Domnic gets on board to rescue her and prevent any more Interpol buildings from being blown up. He assembles his team in London and they go ahead to complete the mission.
While every character with their action and agility fit the block, it's the emotions that are missing. Especially the bromance between Dom and Brian looks forced and the conversations between them lacks its initial spark.
Similarly, the romance between Domnic and Letty is devoid of luster, particularly in the scene where he reminds her of the past, which appears really silly.
Beefed-up Dywane Johnson walks through the scenes like a robotic GI Joe. There are a few funny moments between Tyrese Gibson as Roman and Chris Bridges as Tej.
While the first half of the film rushes through, it's the second half that gives some semblance of sense to the narrative. But there are moments when you feel exhausted with the chases and explosions that you have to sit through.
Nevertheless, it's the well-choreographed action sequence by Olivier Schneider that is brilliantly captured by Cinematographer Stephen F. Windon and the snappy edits that make "Fast & Furious 6" a thrilling adventure.
The story might be simple, but director Justin Lin and writer Chris Morgan fail to pay attention to the holistic logic of the sequences in the film.
Where are these cars speeding to? Where are they in relation to each other? What's their goal during the chase, apart from just creating some din? The climax has a major twist that works in making the next sequel and don't miss the trailer of "Fast & Furious 7" after the end credits.
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